


Locked Doors

by KathWritesThings, Phoebmonster



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-03
Updated: 2014-07-07
Packaged: 2017-12-25 12:53:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/953337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KathWritesThings/pseuds/KathWritesThings, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoebmonster/pseuds/Phoebmonster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Modern Merthur AU. Merlin and Arthur meet by chance at the café where Merlin works, and by some strange means, they end up becoming flatmates. But can Merlin keep his biggest secret from his best friend? And will Arthur survive Morgana’s wrath when she finds out the truth? Co-written by KathWritesThings and Phoebmonster</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So we have had this idea for several months now and finally got around to writing this!  
> Thank you to anyone who reads this, and comments etc are always very much appreciated!

Arthur was in dire need of a holiday. There was only so much digging, so much running and so much stressing that one man could do without taking anything more than a weekend off in god knows how long. Every day there was undercover work that needed doing, paperwork to complete and file, other workers to organise and meetings with whichever lawyer he was working with this time around. It was exhausting, though this didn’t mean that Arthur didn’t love his job. He protected people. He saved people. How many people were now locked behind bars because of his years of hard detective work? It was all he could have hoped for and day to day, nothing was ever the same.

            Arthur looked out of his window in the morning to be greeted by a gloomy, foggy day. Frowning, he stepped out of his flat, attempting to lock the door behind him, turning the key in a hurry, only for it to get jammed. After five or so minutes of tugging, yanking, shoving and generally doing whatever he could, the key and door still would not lend themselves to Arthur’s convenience. “God damn it!” Arthur muttered, kicking the door in a fruitless feat of aggressive frustration. This wasn’t the first time this had happened, in fact, it was far from it. Arthur knew he needed a better place to live, the place was stuffy and not particularly spacious, not to mention that it seemed as if everyone else living in the building, including the landlord, was an obnoxious moron. It wasn’t like Arthur didn’t have the money to live somewhere nicer, far nicer, but if a person can’t find the time to fix a bloody door lock then he’s hardly going to be able to find the time to search for a new place to live.

            Around fifteen minutes and an exhausting conversation with the landlord later (“What did you do to it this time then?” “I didn’t _do_ _anything_!” “Must’ve done. Well you’ll ‘ave to pay me for that, it was a big inconvenience ‘aving  to come all the way up ‘ere.” “And your faulty locks aren’t an inconvenience?”) the door finally un-jammed and Arthur was able to leave for work, another fifteen minutes brisk walk away from where his lived, though that was literally the only convenience of the place, and basically the only reason that he moved in there to start with. When he finally got to his office he was met by none other than his boss, “Arthur, you were meant to be here 20 minutes ago!”

            “I know, I’m sorry. There was a malfunction with my front door and-”

            “Again? Arthur, you see why I don’t like you living there, why don’t you find some place nicer? Perhaps with a fully functioning front door?”

            Arthur frowned, “You know I don’t have time for that, father. I have to do my job.”

            Uther sighed patronisingly, “You don’t have time to be late to work, either! How are you ever going to move up the ranks if you can’t even get here on time? Speaking of which, Morgana is waiting for you in her office, I suggest you don’t keep her waiting any longer.”

            Arthur turned his back on his overbearing father without another word and went to find Morgana. She was a lawyer that working on the same case as him, helping to bring down a guy who all signs pointed towards manslaughter. They had worked together in the past before with a fair amount of success, though Morgana didn’t get put onto a large number of high profile cases and Arthur tended to work with the more experienced lawyers.

            “You finally got here then?” Morgana sceptically raised her eyebrows at Arthur from where she was sitting behind her desk when he arrived at her office. She was an incredibly beautiful woman, with flowing back hair cascading thickly from her head to her waist. She would always wear smart business clothes complete with a skirt down to her knees and high heels, looking professional yet stunning at the same time. Very often men, in and out of the office, were charmed by her looks, however Arthur was not one of them. He saw her as a colleague and a friend, nothing more.

            “Yeah, sorry about that, I had a… door mishap…” Arthur apologised, sitting down across the desk from Morgana, knowing how lame his excuse must sound.

            “Of course – anything for a few minutes extra in bed! I’ve already looked through the file – this case should be a walk in the park, we’ve got more than enough evidence…”

#

Arthur pulled on his coat and got ready to leave for lunch. The fog from the morning had cleared up a bit, but it was still pretty miserable outside. His morning had consisted of the meeting with Morgana and a lot of paperwork. His usual lunch place was only five minutes from work but to make a bad day even worse, it was closed. The, building looked very empty, and a sign, on which the ink had melted due to the rain, on the locked door read _‘Closed until further notice’._

            Arthur sighed, almost not having enough energy left to get annoyed. He would just have to look for somewhere else to go.

            After about fifteen minutes of not managing to find a place that looked half decent or had enough space inside for him, Arthur was just about ready to give up and just go back to the office. He rounded a corner and stopped suddenly. The alley curved off under a bridge and a few shops lined the visible part of the street. They were all boarded up except one, a little green building at the far end. The paint was peeling but the sign was still readable –‘Gaius’ Café’. Arthur could just make out a few red and white striped table cloths and a counter laden with sandwiches and cakes. There were a few people seated at the tables and Arthur decided to pop in, it couldn’t be that bad.

            He sat down at a small, candy-cane coloured, circular table and looked at the menu propped on it.

            “What can I get for you?” The soft voice of a waitress standing by his table holding a note pad made Arthur look up from his menu. The girl was dark skinned with kind eyes and a gentle smile. Her chocolate coloured curly hair was pulled into a neat bun and she looked somewhat familiar to Arthur. Like the other waitresses here, she was wearing a horizontally striped red and white apron, tied at her waist and was now looking at Arthur expectantly.

            “You look sort of familiar, have we met before?”

Gwen looked confused until a sudden look of realisation flashed across her face. “You work with Elyan, don’t you? I’m Gwen, his sister. I think we met at the Christmas party, last year.”

 Arthur grinned. “Yeah, I’m his boss, Arthur. It’s nice to see you again.”

Gwen nodded and flipped over a page in her notebook. “Yeah, you too. Are you going to order anything then?”

Arthur glanced at the menu and looked back up to Gwen. “Yeah, I’ll have a black coffee, two sugars and a ham and cheese panini please.” Gwen nodded again and wrote down his order.

            “I’ll be right back with your food.” She smiled and walked away.

            Arthur’s panini and coffee were actually very nice, surprisingly even better than his usual lunch place, and cheaper too. Gwen came by and handed him his cheque, telling him that he had to go up to the cashier to pay, and pointed towards the front of the café.

            Standing behind the cash register was a boy a few years younger than Arthur. He had short black hair which seemed to stick up in every direction and a thin face which made his cheekbones even more prominent. He was wearing a baggy black log sleeved top and a white apron. He was fiddling with the cash desk and with the little pot of tips on the counter. He looked thoroughly bored.

            Arthur approached the cash register and the boy looked up at him. As Arthur handed him the money, Gwen popped up. “Hey, Arthur! This is Merlin, he’s my … flatmate.” Merlin gave an awkward half smile and took the money from Arthur.

“Nice to meet you.” Arthur said with a grin as his took Merlin’s hand and shook it firmly. Merlin remained silent and after a few moments, Gwen stepped in. “Well, it was nice seeing you Arthur. You should come back again, y’know, friend’s discount and all that.” Arthur smiled and left the café , but not before putting a few coins in the tips jar. As Arthur walked back up the alley, he genuinely smiled for the first time that day. Maybe he would go back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter! The next one should pop up in around a month or so! Thank you for reading and all kudos/comments are always much appreciated!

As it happened, Arthur did go back the next day. And the next one. And the next one. After all, it wasn’t like he had anywhere better to go.

                With each progressive day, the strange boy behind the counter got friendlier. It started with a “So you did come back?” and what may or may not have been a fleeting smile the day after Arthur’s first visit. Arthur smiled back and nodded.

                These brief interactions eventually evolved into short conversations about nothing in particular: the weather, how was Gwen, and how boring Merlin’s job seemed. Merlin appeared to be relaxing more around Arthur, especially in contrast to when they’d first met and he hadn’t said a word, but there was definitely a distance between them, even when they were having friendly conversations. They weren’t friends. Merlin was a closed, fidgety book.

                At least, that was how it seemed to Arthur.

                 But Arthur didn’t see how Merlin would glance at the clock every few minutes as it approached 12:30, which had quickly become Arthur’s habitual time of arrival. Nor did Arthur see the look of vague disappointment on Merlin’s face on the days that Arthur couldn’t make it because he was too busy working on a case. Arthur also didn’t understand why he felt the need to explain himself and apologise to Merlin the next day.

                There was always a fair amount of people in the café besides Arthur. There were people like him, alone. Then there were couples and sometimes a family would wander in, perhaps thinking the same thing as Arthur when he first decided to enter this shop- that it looked like as nice a place as any to go in and have a bite. Different people every day: young and old and happy and quiet. To escape the hellish tedium of his job and thoughts, Merlin would sometimes watch them and wonder.

                Gwen didn’t always serve Arthur, but she always had a friendly smile and wave for him when she saw him. On the days when she did serve him she was super chatty and Arthur found himself wondering how a person as outgoing and animated as Gwen and quiet, reserve Merlin ended up as friends, let alone flatmates.

                About two weeks later, Arthur and Morgana sat in her office, packing up their papers after the meeting. Arthur grabbed his coat and made to leave but stopped when he say Morgana pull a limp foil package from her bag. He stifled a laugh as she unwrapped it to reveal a squashed cheese sandwich. “Oh shut up.” said Morgana sourly as she gingerly lifted the edge of her lunch.

               Arthur stepped back and raised his arms. “I didn’t say anything. But what are you doing eating a sodding cheese sandwich? Even I can make better than that.”

               Morgana scowled and rewrapped the sandwich. “I know … but I’m a terrible cook and my usual lunch place is closed down. I haven’t had the time to find anything better.” Arthur laughed and Morgana stood up and flung her cheese sandwich at Arthur. He ducked and it landed in the bin by the door. “Now, you made me throw my lunch away, so you should take me somewhere and buy me another one.” Morgana crossed her arms with a look of smug delight on her face.

               Arthur opened his mouth to make several objections, but none seemed worthwhile, so he closed it and picked up his briefcase. “Fine. C’mon then. I know just the place.”

               They arrived at the café and Morgana peered in sceptically but Arthur pushed the door open and grinned at Merlin. They both got sat down in the corner and Gwen bustled over to take their order. "Hey, Gwen, this is my colleague, Morgana. Morgana, this is Gwen, she's Elyans sister."

               Morgana smiled broadly at Gwen. "Elyan who works with Arthur? I've worked with him a few times myself..." And they were off, chatting about everything and anything. Arthur became less interested and more hungry as they chatted, so he glanced over at Merlin. Merlin gave him a small smile and coughed loudly.

               Gwen quickly pulled out her pad of paper and her pen. "Sorry! I totally lost track of time ... So, what would you two like?" The pair ordered and Gwen bustled off again.

               When she was just around the corner, still within earshot, Morgana leaned back and said, "Well, I can see why you come here so often Arthur." Arthur blushed and they heard a plate being dropped in the kitchen. Morgana crossed her arms and looked like the cat who'd got the cream.

               "It's not like that ... We're just friends."

Morgana raised an eyebrow sceptically. "Yeah, of course."

               Soon, Gwen returned with their sandwiches, blushing furiously. She put down their plates and turned to walk away but was stopped by Morgana. "Hey - Gwen. Do you wanna go out for drinks sometime? Arthur could come along if he wants."

               Gwen opened her mouth but Arthur quickly butted in. "Could Merlin come too? He'd be alone otherwise..."

               Gwen relaxed and smiled. "Yeah, of course. I'm free this Friday - we could meet outside the café."

               Morgana grinned and cut her toasted sandwich in half. "I can get here for eight. It should be fun."

               Arthur smiled - he hadn't been out in ages. "Yeah - it should be."

               It got to ten to eight on Friday and Arthur was alternating between frowning at his watch and frowning at his paper-cluttered desk. His meeting with Uther had run on for longer than anticipated and now he was behind on the paperwork that he couldn’t really in good conscience leave without finishing. After a few more tedious minutes of the watch ticking at him mockingly Arthur put the pen down, frustrated. He was supposed to be out of here about fifteen minutes ago and obviously behind held up like this just _had_ to happen the one time he actually had plans. He also didn’t have any way to let any of them know he was going to be late. He didn’t even know how late he was going to be.

               Blow it, he decided. He could just get in early tomorrow and finish it with no harm done. He looked at his watch- if he hurried, he wouldn’t be _too_ late.

               It was just starting to get dim outside as Arthur speed-walked to the café. Eventually he was just across the road. Merlin, Morgana and Gwen were stood outside the closed, dark café. The ladies were engaged in conversation while Merlin stood there with no interest in what they were saying, his gaze flickering over the surroundings.

               Merlin was the only one to spot Arthur from the other side of the road and therefore the only one to notice that as Arthur was dashing across the road a car was speedily moving in his direction, only seconds away from colliding with him. All Merlin could think was ‘ _Oh god, no_.’ Almost instinctively, he slowed down the car… and everything else. With everything suddenly moving frame by frame and the car now slowly but steadily inching closer towards an unresponsive Arthur, Merlin ran out and roughly pulled Arthur off of the road as quickly as he could, both of them slamming down onto the pavement. With a flash of orange, everything clicked back into normal speed and the car continued to zoom past with no consequences.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all... we are so so sorry it took so long to update! There's been exams/coursework paired with serious writer's block/lack of motivation... which is never a good thing.  
> But anyways, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

At this point, Gwen and Morgana noticed what was happening and hurried over to where Merlin and Arthur were now lying on the pavement. “Oh my god!” Morgana exclaimed. “What happened?!”

                “Are you two alright?” Gwen asked, frowning worriedly at them both, concerned.

                Merlin rolled over and pushed himself up so that he was kneeling on the ground, bit his lip and looked at Arthur, who just looked quite stunned as he sat up and propped himself up with his hands. “You just saved my life.” Arthur spoke slowly, looking at Merlin in shock and disbelief. Merlin searched his face for any sign of suspicion, but as far as he could tell there was nothing there to suggest that Arthur had noticed anything out of the ordinary.

                Merlin half smiled and raised one shoulder briefly in a non-committal shrug, as form of some sort of nonchalant ‘yes’.

                Arthur opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn’t seem to make his lips form the right words. What was there to say? This quiet, odd person who he had only known for a couple of weeks now had just saved his life. As this thought ran through Arthur’s mind, his brain trying to process it all, he ended up just _looking_ at Merlin. Merlin smiled back at Arthur and saw something in his eyes that he couldn’t quite figure out.

                There was gratitude there- that was certain. But there was also… some kind of wonderment; like there was something about him that Arthur hadn’t figured out, but as if, perhaps, he didn’t feel like he needed to.

                Merlin obliviously decided it was down to the fact that he was paranoid, and therefore was probably seeing things that weren’t really there.

                Gwen broke the silence by exhaling loudly and putting her head to her forehead, as if she had only just processed what had really happened, and was in some kind of shock. “Well…” she didn’t really know quite what to say.

                Morgana laughed shakily and bent down to begin to help Arthur to his feet. “Gwen… could we go back to your place? It’s the closest… I think they might be hurt.”

                Gwen nodded, but Merlin hopped to his feet to show that he, in fact, was perfectly unharmed, but he shot Arthur a concerned look. After all, they had crashed rather awkwardly onto the hard, concrete pavement.

                Arthur simply rolled his eyes and scoffed. “I’m fine!” he insisted, brushing away a concerned Morgana and pushing himself to his feet. He hadn’t quite made it upright before a stabbing pain in his left calf caused his legs to collapse under him. His three friends rushed to his side and managed to steady him before he could greet the ground again.

                “You were saying?!” Morgana raised her eyebrows and Arthur conceded.

                “Alright, fine. My leg hurts, but it’s not that bad.”

                “Do you think you could make it to my house?” Gwen suggested kindly, seemingly having snapped out of her state of shock by now, but still extremely concerned. “It’s not that far and you obviously need tending to.”

                Arthur managed to make it there with a lot of limping and a lot of leaning on Merlin.

                Gwen unlocked the front door of their tiny bungalow and, knowing that Arthur had never been there before, was slightly embarrassed as she let them in. Merlin was too preoccupied with Arthur to give it a second thought. It wasn’t that Gwen was necessarily ashamed of her home: she has worked hard for it, and she and Merlin managed just fine despite the lack of space. But she was very aware that Arthur was a successful man who earned a lot of money… and the thought of that made her tiny but cosy space feel somewhat pathetic.

                Merlin carefully helped Arthur onto the sofa in the middle of the room, got him to prop his leg up and sat on the other end, inspecting it. Gwen perched herself on the arm rest on Merlin’s side and Morgana stood behind the sofa, leaning against it lightly.

                After a few moments Merlin looked up from Arthur’s leg at the man himself, and shrugged. “It looks fine to me!”

                Gwen nudged his shoulder lightly, “You’re hardly a doctor, Merlin.” She commented teasingly. Merlin just slyly smiled at her and shrugged again.

                It was subtle, but Arthur was sort of amazed at how different Merlin seemed in these actions. He was evidently much, _much_ more comfortable here than he was anywhere else. Especially when he compared it to how Merlin had seemed when he had first met him, when he had looked incredibly awkward, and almost slightly scared, he seemed incredibly at ease.

                “I’ve got some painkillers in the cupboard, if you think that will help?” Gwen offered, breaking Arthur’s train of thought.

                He was thankful for the suggestion. “Yeah, that would be great, thanks.” Okay so maybe it did hurt a fair bit.

                Gwen stood up and made her way to the kitchen area of the room, and Arthur couldn’t help but notice just how small the house was. The front door went straight into the room they were in, which was fairly large, since it was a combination of two thirds living room and one third kitchen. The sofa was positioned in front of an average-sized television, while the remaining space was taken up by a small dining table and a few cupboards. Arthur could only see one door other than the front one, and he wondered if there was only one room beyond that. It was small, but at least it seemed homey- unlike his god-awful malfunctioning flat.

                He voiced his thoughts curiously; “Isn’t this place a bit small?”

                “ _Arthur!_ ” Morgana scolded; outraged that he would say such a thing. Gwen started to blush into the kitchen cupboard. Merlin just raised an eyebrow.

                “No! No, not like that! I just mean that it doesn’t seem like there’s enough space for two people, that’s all. I’m sorry.”

                “It’s okay, that’s just because there _isn’t._ ” Merlin responded, shooting a meaningful glance at Gwen as she returned with a couple of painkillers and a glass of water, which Arthur gratefully accepted. She then re-perched on the arm rest, giving Merlin a look as if to say ‘not now’.

                “I moved in here by myself a few years ago. It was plenty of space for me by myself, and Merlin doesn’t take up that much space anyway.”

                “I’d take up even less space if you’d let me find somewhere else.” Merlin muttered, just loud enough for everyone to catch it. Guilt. That’s what his words were laced with. Merlin felt awful for imposing on Gwen’s space.

                “Don’t be ridiculous, Merlin.” Gwen responded softly, yet in a way that made it clear they’d had this discussion- or argument- multiple times before. And she had gotten the last word. Gwen turned back to Arthur and Morgana and, as manner of an explanation, said “We don’t really have enough money or time to find somewhere bigger.”

                Arthur realised that this didn’t at all explain the odd exchange between the two of them. He also noted that nothing had been said about how or why Merlin had ended up living with Gwen, or why she was so reluctant to let him live by himself.

                If Morgana noticed, she didn’t say anything. What she did say was, “Funny, Arthur’s been having some issues with his flat recently, it’s not a particularly great place, is it, Arthur? Maybe he and Merlin could find a place. In fact, Gwen, it does get pretty boring living on my own… maybe we could find somewhere too?” Morgana figured that frankly, this was a genius idea. They wouldn’t have to worry about not making enough money between the two of them to be comfortable, Arthur could move out of his god-awful flat and Gwen wouldn’t have to worry about Merlin being alone for whatever reason.

                Gwen seemed to catch on, “That actually sounds like a pretty good idea…”

                The two ladies smiled at each other, while the two men exchanged a glance as if to say ‘what could go wrong?’


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!

Arthur lugged the final box out of the flat and pulled the door to, only to find himself facing another five minute battle with the front door. He was very tempted to just give up entirely when he heard the guttural cough of his landlord. “I’ll take care of that, Arthur.”

                Arthur grinned and heaved the box into his arms, “Good luck with that. I guess I’ll see you around?”

                The man nodded and smiled toothily and Arthur started towards the lift. “Oh, Arthur? There’s a young man in the lobby for you. All black hair and wide eyes.”

                Arthur nodded and smiled as the lift door shut and he descended, for the last time, to the lobby.

                It had been a month since Morgana made the impromptu, yet somehow logic suggestion that the boys moved in together, which led to her and Gwen’s decision to find a place too. It had all turned out very conveniently as it was merely days later that Gwen learned from her brother that there were vacant rooms in his building. After looking around, lots of decision making and even more packing, it was finally time for them to move in.

                Gwen and Merlin had said a nostalgic goodbye to the little house they had inhabited, but Arthur could not be happier to get out of that flat, saying a silent ‘good riddance’ as he walked away from it for the last time.

                There was a hiss of hydraulics as the metallic elevator doors slid open to reveal the lobby that Arthur had passed through every day for the last two and a half years. His eyes searched around as he stepped out of the life and eventually landed on Merlin standing near the door, looking nervous.

                “Merlin!” Arthur called cheerily as he walked over, “I thought we were going to meet at the flat?” He hadn’t been expecting Merlin to be here- not that he was complaining.

                “Sorry, I just thought I’d see if you needed any help…” he shuffled awkwardly.

                “Actually this is my last box, but thanks!”

                Merlin nodded and they went to put the box in the back of the moving van. “Aren’t you boiling in that?” Arthur asked incredulously. The sun was blazing down from an almost cloudless sky and yet Merlin was wearing a grey, long sleeved shirt whereas Arthur was too hot in just his t-shirt.

                Merlin tensed, but casually said, “No… I don’t really think it’s that hot.”

                “Hm…” Arthur watched the van drive away, “Oh! I should go leave my spare key on the desk! A taxi should be here in a minute, just wait there a sec.”

                Arthur went back in, not giving a second thought, but when he was out of sight, Merlin exhaled with relief.

Arthur returned shortly before the taxi appeared. It pulled up in the busy street and Arthur and Merlin piled in. Arthur shuffled along and leaned forwards towards the driver, “Camelot Towers please.”

                The driver looked into his rear-view mirror and adjusted his thin wire framed glasses. “O’corse, sir. “We’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

Arthur leaned back as the taxi drove off, weaving in and out of the busy traffic. Arthur clasped his hands in his lap, suddenly nervous. He glanced over at Merlin, who had his arm pressed against the window. He was looking intently at the passing traffic and he drummed his fingers on the worn knee on his black jeans. As Arthur got his phone out of his pocket, Merlin glanced at his soon-to-be-flatmate. Arthur’s eyebrows furrowed as he read the text on his phone and he ran a hand through his hair. Arthur turned his head quickly and their eyes met in the middle. They turned away briskly and awkwardly, both inwardly blushing furiously.

                Thankfully the cabble pulled the handbrake and cut the engine outside a large, modern block of flats. Arthur and Merlin leapt out as quickly as they could, Arthur digging in his pocket for some change. As he paid the cabbie, Merlin shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at his new home.

                Camelot Towers was A relatively new development; A converted factory near to the Thames. The two-top floors were owned by the Metropolitan police, which they rented to young police officers and sometimes their friends and families too. The three flats on the top floor were rented by a group of five young officers, one of whom was Gwen’s brother Elyan and all of whom Arthur at least vaguely knew from work. The two flats below were now occupied by Morgana and Gwen, and Merlin and Arthur.

                Merlin smiled and ran a hand through his dishevelled hair. This was going to be the best house he’d ever lived in – even if he was sharing with Arthur. Arthur was a perfectly nice person, more than that in fact, and Merlin had grown to quite like him. But Merlin had secrets which he would prefer stay hidden… for many reasons. He didn’t want to hurt anyone else. Merlin’s musing was interrupted by a sharp slap on the back from a grinning Arthur. “C’mon Merlin! The van’s here, we can start unpacking.”

                Merlin was halfway up the stairs, lugging one of Arthur’s boxes (helpfully labelled ‘stuff’) when he caught sight of Morgana. She was leaning on the bannister and talking on the phone, her face set in a frown. When she noticed Merlin however, she hung up and smiled sweetly. “Hey Merlin! Do you need any help with that? Gwen and I finished unpacking about half an hour ago…” Merlin rolled his eyes and shook his head.

                “I’m fine thanks, but I think Arthur might. He’s trying to fit a bookcase into the service lift.” Morgana laughed and hopped down the remaining stairs and gently prodded Merlin in the arm.

                “He’s always been an idiot. Luckily he’s your idiot now.” Morgana started to walk down the stairs but Merlin paused for a second and adjusted the box on his hip, smiling quietly.

                Two hours later, after countless trips up the stairs, trying to fit furniture in the too small lift and Arthur dropping a small table on his foot, they were finally settled in. The four were sat on two shabby sofas in the middle of the room, surrounded by precariously balanced boxes. Arthur had his feet up on a box and his arms spread across the back of the sofa, his coffee balanced precariously on the arm. Morgana sat next to him, with both feet curled underneath her and was sipping her tea quietly. Merlin and Gwen were sat on the other sofa, both hands around their mugs, grinning incredulously at each other.

                Arthur broke the silence with a yawn and a stretch of his arms. “Well, I’m shattered! I never realised I had so much stuff. You got of lightly Merlin. You had –what? Two boxes?”

                Merlin fidgeted in his seat and looked at the carpet. “I don’t have much stuff… I’m not a very sentimental person.” He replied eventually, in a small voice. “And there wasn’t very much room for mementos in the old flat.”

                Gwen coughed suddenly and dug in her pocket for her phone. “Does everyone fancy a Chinese? Morgana picked a leaflet in the lobby.” The boys nodded enthusiastically but were interrupted by a loud knocking at the door, followed by muffled, unintelligible voices. Arthur got up and opened it tentatively and a large group of men bundled inside, all on top of one another.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, apologies for how late this chapter is! It was intended to be published a week ago, but the laptop is was saved on basically blew up... fortunately we were able to salvage it! It shouldn't take as long for the next chapter to pop up :)  
> Thanks so much to everyone who reads this story, it means a lot to us!  
> If you enjoy it then please remember to leave comments/kudos as we always really appreciate them!  
> Enjoy!

“Elyan?!” Gwen exclaimed, recognizing her brother as one of the members of the rambunctious group of men who had just burst through her friends’ new front door.

          Elyan chuckled nervously, “Er… hey, sis…”

          Arthur frowned slightly, confused. “What are you guys doing here?” He knew all of them from work and would even hang out with them outside of work occasionally. But Arthur was always busier than they were, and their paths hadn’t crossed much recently. Obviously he knew that they lived here… he just hadn’t been expecting them to appear the second that they had moved in.

          “Elyan said that you were moving in today,” Leon shrugged casually.

          Lancelot grinned friendlily, “Yeah, we couldn’t pass up the chance to welcome you to the building!”

          “It was Gwaine’s idea!” Elyan quickly said defensively, trying to ward off the disapproving glares from his sister, only to earn a dirty scowl for Gwaine.

          There were five of them, all standing by the still wide open door: Elyan was the youngest and bore a family resemblance to his sister; Leon was the oldest and most sensible; Lancelot was entirely constructed of equal parts handsomeness and friendliness; Percival looked like a man-mountain but his general demeanour gave away his gentle nature… and then there was Gwain, who, simply put, was outrageous.

          Arthur smiled- after all the stress of moving their antics were quite appreciated relief. “Well you may as well come in for a bit then!”

          Percival closed the door and they made their way towards the living room area, looking around the apartment.

          “Huh…” Gwaine commented, “I was expecting more clutter, it’s not much stuff for two people.”

          Percival elbowed him in the ribs, “Not everyone has as much crap as you, Gwaine.”

          “Oi, I don’t have that much crap!” Gwaine retaliated defensively.

          “Enough that I trip over it almost every day,” Percival responded, chaking his head, “I don’t know how I put up with you, honestly.”

          Gwaine pouted, “It’s not my fault you don’t look where you walk.”

          Gwaine’s comment made Arthur remember the awkward non-conversation he’d had with Merlin just ten minutes ago and suddenly he felt bad for Merlin- he didn’t know these guys and Arthur was becoming increasingly aware of how little Merlin was comfortable in social situations. He’d only just warmed up to Arthur in the last several weeks, and even now it seemed like Merlin was still partially withdrawn from him, even from Gwen. “We already moved some boxes into our rooms.” He intercepted quickly, and Gwaine didn’t seem to give it a second thought. In fact, he seemed more preoccupied with arguing with Percival.

          Needless to say, there wasn’t exactly enough space for nine people in a two person flat, certainly not enough sitting space. After a few minutes of busting and shuffling, they’d ended up with Arthur and Merlin on the smaller sofa and Gwen, Elyan and Leon on the other while Lancelot and Morgana sat next to each other on the floor. Gwaine had managed to wrangle the armchair off Percival, who was now perched on the arm of it, probably just to impede on Gwaine’s space.

          “Urm, we were going to just order some Chinese food…” Morgana said, sounding hesitant, and mildly wishing that their quite little evening hadn’t been intruded. Okay, sure, these guys were Arthur’s friends, and one of them was Gwen’s brother, and Morgana was well aware that they were perfectly nice guys, but she had wanted the opportunity to get settled and was not particularly in the mood for extraneous social interaction. It could be exhausting sometimes.

          “Excellent, I love Chinese!” Gwaine exclaimed, to be met with a thump for Percival.

          Lancelot, picking up of Morgana’s annoyance, looked at her and said, “I think what Gwaine meant to say was ‘Please allow us to join you, we’d all love the opportunity to get to know our new neighbours better’.” He ended with a derisive look at Gwaine. Morgana still didn’t look entirely convinced, so he added, “We’ll even pay, right guys?”

          They all nodded willingly, and Morgana, now won over, smiled warmly at Lancelot.

          ~

          Despite the fact that they were in his home, the guys didn’t seem to particularly notice Merlin until Gwen asked him what he wanted to east. Naturally, by the time the food had been delivered they were already interrogating and teasing him incessantly.

          “So, got a special someone Merlin?” grinned Lancelot, scooping some chow mein onto his fork.

          Merlin blushed and mumbled into his rice.

          “Sorry, Merlin, didn’t quite catch that.” said Gwaine, catching on. Percival lets out a snort and pinched a spring roll from his plate.

          Merlin looked up and blushed harder, muttering and embarrassed “No.”

          “No girlfriend?” pressed Lancelot. When Merlin shook his head, Lancelot exhaled dramatically.

          “Oooh … is it a boyfriend then? I wouldn’t have …”

          Merlin cut him short with a rather vicous “No!” before blushing and vehemently stabbing his food.

          Lancelot raised his eyebrows but before anyone else could reply, Arthur spoke up.

          “Oh, leave him alone, will you?” Arthur insisted.

          The guys all raised their eyebrows, almost perfectly simultaneously. “Wow, someone’s a protective boyfriend…” Elyan commented, much to the others’ amusement.

          Gwen glared at him, “Elyan!” but he simply shrugged.

          Gwen glared at him, “Elyan!” but he simply shrugged. Merlin stared at his knees awkwardly and Arthur’s response was full to the brim with snark, “That’s so hilarious, however do you come up with such creative jokes?”

          Gwaine snorted and even Merlin let out a small chuckle with the rest of them.

          Arthur rolled his eyes, “Seriously though, Merlin’s doesn’t know you guys, he doesn’t know that you don’t mean any of it. Give the poor guy a break!”

          Merlin glanced sideways at Arthur, careful not to let his face betray his emotions. It felt so good to have someone sticking up for him- even for such a small thing like this. It wasn’t like Arthur had to say anything, and the fact that he did meant a lot to Merlin.

          “Of course we don’t mean it!” Elyan said.

          “Yeah, sorry if we gave you the wrong idea, mate.” Percival contributed sympathetically.

          Lancelot nodded, “Any friend of Arthur’s is a friend of ours, right guys?”

          They all nodded and murmured their agreements, and the conversation split into many parts. Morgana was batting her eyelids at Lancelot while Elyan and Gwen seemed to be catching up with each other as Percival and Leon shared a joke.

          Gwaine had struck up a conversation with an initially reluctant Merlin but as it went on, Merlin’s reluctance seemed to fade to nothing and he and Gwaine were deep in conversation. About what, Arthur had no clue. He wasn’t even sure what topic of conversation Gwaine could have conjured up to make Merlin talk so much- it was the total opposite to how his first meeting with Arthur had gone. In fact, Arthur was fairly sure he’d never seen Merlin talk so much at once.

          It was Gwaine, Arthur told himself, Gwaine, who had the distinctive habit of managing to engage in conversation about anything. He was just so easy to talk to… if he didn’t manage to annoy the hell out of the person he was talking to first. That was why Merlin was talking to him so much. No reason to be jealous about that. Especially since Arthur was definitely not jealous whatsoever about any part of this situation. What was there to be jealous of? He’d have plenty of opportunity to talk to Merlin in the future- they did live together now after all. Merlin would probably have more to say once he got more relaxed around him. Arthur decided not to question why Merlin was acting more comfortable around Gwaine within several minutes of knowing him than he did around Arthur after several weeks.

          “What do you think, Arthur?” Gwaine asked, interrupting Arthur’s train of thought.

          Arthur tore his eyes away from Merlin to look at Gwaine quizzically. He had no idea what they had been discussing, or what he had just been asked. “Hm?”

          Gwaine smirked to himself.

          ~

          Morgana yawned, “Wow, I’m exhausted. I didn’t realise how tiring moving was.”

          Gwen nodded, “And don’t forget we still have all those boxes to unpack tomorrow.”

          “That’s going to be really fun, I bet.” Arthur said sarcastically, yawning too.

          “Ugh,” Morgana grumbled, “It’s going to take all day, isn’t it?”

          The girls tiredly decided to head back to their own apartment, and not long afterwards the guys also decided to go back up to their apartments, leaving Merlin and Arthur to get settled.

          “So… what do you guys want to bet that those two get together?” Gwaine said as soon as the door had shut and they were out of earshot.

          “Which two?” Lancelot asked.

          “Merlin and Arthur, obviously.” Gwaine responded.

          Elyan chimed in, “I think Gwen kind of has her eye on Arthur, actually.”

          “Poor Gwen,” Leon commented, “I mean, did you see the way they looked at each other?”

          Gwaine nodded, “Tenner says that it takes a month.”

          Leon frowned, “Seriously? I don’t know about Merlin but Arthur’s pretty stubborn, I’d say at least 3 months.”

          Percival frowned as they approached their doors, “Isn’t this a bit weird- betting on our friends hooking up?” The other four gave him looks of obvious disagreement, so he shrugged, “Just seems a bit strange is all.”

          “Oh c’mon, it’s just a bit of fun!” Gwaine responded with a chuckle.

          Elyan, Lancelot and Leon all exchanged wary looks causing Percival and Gwaine to stare at them questioningly.

          “What?”

          “Nothing!”

          They figured it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to mention the fact that the three of them had a similar, ongoing bet regarding Gwaine and Percival.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are really really sorry that it has taken so long to update, but we've been really busy with school stuff and exams and everything, but hopefully you will enjoy this chapter, and we will try to get the next chapter up sooner rather than later!

Arthur awoke the next morning, slightly disoriented for a moment by the clutter of boxes surrounding him. The clock he had somehow managed to locate and shove onto his bedside table before collapsing into bed blinked 7:12 at him. Apparently his brain didn't like that he finally had the opportunity for a lie in.

                After the lengthy process of rooting through the boxes, making the clutter even worse and realising that none of them contained any clothing to speak of, he realises that he probably should've labelled his boxes better.

                He traipsed into the living room, prepared to quietly search through his boxes for clothes- after all, they had to be somewhere- but he hadn't expected to see Merlin on the sofa, limbs all folded in and curled up, head stuck in a book and a mug of coffee in his hand.

                "Didn't expect to see you up this early.” Arthur commented

                Merlin looked up from his book to see Arthur standing there wearing nothing but a pair of jogging bottoms, scanning the room for boxes. "I guess I just wasn't that tired..." he said with a shrug.

                Alarm bells started to ring in Arthur's mind: Merlin looked exhausted, like he'd gotten no sleep at all. "So how long have you been up?" He asked casually, not want to seem intrusive.

                Merlin shrugged nonchalantly again, "I'm not really sure, to be honest.  Not too long, I don't think."

                Arthur found himself wondering if Merlin had started that book this morning- he was almost half way through it. But he pushed that thought to the back of his mind. Why should Merlin's odd sleeping patterns matter to him? "Yeah, erm, do you happen to know which of these boxes contain any of my clothes by any chance? I seem to have misplaced them..."

                Merlin snorted at Arthur, "Well your packing methods can't have helped." He grinned as Arthur emptied one of the many unhelpfully labelled boxes of 'stuff', spilling the contents all over the floor.

                "Oh come on, at least give me a hint!'

                Merlin smirked and turned a page of the book, "Have a few more guesses."

                Arthur emptied three more boxes, containing books, towels and DVDs. "This is just cruel." Arthur whined, to Merlin's amusement.  Then a slow smile crept onto Arthur's face. "Fine. I won't get dressed. I'll stay without a shirt on all day. Come on, Merlin, move over!"  Merlin shuffled up the sofa and Arthur slouched next to him, stretching his arms and yawning. Merlin tried to get back to reading his book, but Arthur's chest proved to be very distracting. Arthur gazed towards the kitchen. "I'm starving. Do you want pancakes? I think we've got the ingredients." Arthur stood up slowly but before he reached the kitchen, he heard Merlin call out.

                "There over there, third box down, next to my box of books." Arthur grinned and heaved the box into his room.

                "I knew you'd come round eventually!"

                Ten minutes later, Arthur emerged in a pair of blue jeans and purple socks - but still no shirt. "Merlin! I still can't find my shirt!"

                Merlin replied without looking up from his book. "Not my problem. Now, I think you owe me some pancakes."

                Arthur rolled his eyes and was about to go into the kitchen when they heard a knock at the door. "Bet that's Morgana, she can hear the word pancake from a mile away!" Arthur opened the door and the greeting died on his lips as he saw who was in the doorway. "Dad?"

                Uther pushed his way inside and surveyed the flat, taking in all the boxes and the surprised figure of Merlin sprawled out on the sofa. There was an uncomfortable silence as they all stood frozen, before Uther turned to Arthur and raised his eyebrows. Arthur flew into action, closing the door and gesturing around the flat.

                "Er, Merlin, this is my dad, Uther Pendragon, Dad, this is my new flatmate, Merlin." Uther sighed and sat on the empty sofa.

                "That's better. But for Christ's sake, Arthur, put a shirt on!" Merlin nodded towards a box in the far corner and Arthur pulled it into his room.

                The two sat in silence, Uther looking around the flat curiously. "It's a bit of a tip, here, isn't it? I've always said to Arthur I could find him somewhere really nice, up in the better parts of London, but he's never listened."

                Merlin sat up and put his book down. "Erm, we were going to sort it out today... tidy up all the boxes and stuff..." The words awkwardly died and they were plunged into an uncomfortable silence.

                Thankfully Arthur returned to the room shortly afterwards, now wearing a white t-shirt and looking notably less cheerful than he did before his father had appeared. "So, can I get you anything, father? A cup of tea or anything?" He offered, doing his best to try to appease the awkwardness.

                Uther shook his head, "No, thank you. I can't stay for too long, I've got important businesses to address at work. Which, by the way, I'll need your help with tomorrow."

                Arthur sat down next to Merlin with a sigh, "It's my day off, do we really have to talk about work? Why are you here, anyway?"

                "Can't a father check in on his own son in his new home?" Uther responded.

                "You mean 'make sure that I'm living somewhere that's up to your standards'?"

                Uther sighed, "I just want what's best for you."

                "This place is perfectly nice!" Merlin piped up. Uther turned and looked at him, almost as if he'd forgotten that he was sitting right there. He didn't look to happy about it either.

                "Merlin's right!" Arthur said.  "It's clean, it's not too expensive, and the doors actually work properly, which is a nice change. I like it here, plus Morgana is just across the hall."

                Uther nodded, conceding defeat.  "I suppose it is a step up from your last place. I should probably be on my way, it's getting late." He stood up and headed to the door without another glance at Merlin.

                Arthur got up to see him out and from the other side of the room Merlin projected an unfriendly "Goodbye!"

                Uther frowned, "Arthur, can I speak to you in the hallway for a moment?"

                Arthur nodded with trepidation and they stepped into the hall. He crossed his arms over his chest defensively, "Yes?"

                "Arthur. I understand you're excited to have a new flat and everything, and you get to share it with your ... roommate," Arthur raised his eyebrows, confused. "But you've got to be more ... discreet about these things."

                “…what?” Arthur frowned, not following. “About what things? What are you talking about?”

                Uther gave him a pointed look, “Son, obviously I can’t tell you how to live your life, but-”

                Arthur’s eyes widened as he realised what Uther was talking about, “What?! You think…? We’re not…!” He took a deep breath and tried to stop himself from turning bright red, “There’s not anything… I mean, he's just my flatmate."

                Uther looked surprised, and was about to continue speaking when Morgana poked her head around the door on the other side of the hall. "I thought I heard voices..? Oh, Arthur, it's you."  She realised there was another person there and did a small double take. “… and Uther! Hello. It’s strange seeing you out of the office.” said Morgana, looking between the pair, painfully aware of their rocky relationship.

                 Uther smiled somewhat awkwardly at her, “I was just seeing how Arthur has been settling in. Speaking of the office, I better be getting back. Goodbye.” Uther abruptly side stepped Arthur and was gone.

                Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. “Well that could not have gone any worse. Thanks for the rescue.”

                Morgana grinned and elbowed him in the ribs. “Anytime. I’ve got to go, Gwen forgot milk yesterday and she’s rubbish without coffee…”

                “Yeah, feel free to come over later. I think I spied an Indian takeaway down the road, we could order something.”

                “That’d be great! See ya.” Morgana sauntered off down the stairs and Arthur went back into his apartment.

                Merlin was still lounging on the sofa, reading his book, but looked towards Arthur with an inquisitive gaze when he heard the door click shut, “What was that all about then?” he asked.

                Arthur shook his head dismissively, “I’m not… entirely sure…” He moved back towards the sofas, trying to wrap his head around the abrupt, awkward exchange that had just occurred in the hallway. He glanced at Merlin. “Sorry about my father, he can be a bit...”

                “Of a prat?” Merlin offered, folding the corner of his book down and putting it on the arm of the sofa.

                Arthur smirked slightly, “I guess that’s one way of putting it. I know he does actually mean well, even if he does go about it entirely the wrong way. He’s just one of those super overbearing parent types. I mean, you know how parents can get.”

                Merlin froze and momentarily stared at Arthur, as if he was trying to come to some kind of decision. “Uh, actually…” he spoke, scratching the back of his neck like this was one of the most difficult things he ever had to say, “I don’t, uhm… I don’t actually _have_ parents, so…” he trailed off awkwardly, looking at his knees.

                Arthur’s face softened and he immediately felt awful. “Oh… I’m sorry, that must be hard for you.”

                Merlin gave a small shrug, looking back up at him, but measuring his words carefully, “I don’t remember anything different, so I don’t really know what it would be like… it’s, uh, complicated.”

                “I understand. I never knew my mother either. She died when I was really young. I know it’s not the same, but…” Their eyes met, and they smiled at each other. It was amazing how one look could convey so many things; understanding, comfort, appreciation. “So… pancakes?” Arthur suggested, standing up and moving towards the kitchen.

                Merlin agreed enthusiastically.


End file.
